Back in 1965, the American Aerosol Company launched Crazy Foam to “make bathtime fun for kids and easy for parents.” The concept was simple, with shaving cream-style soap packed into a can that featured artwork from a variety of licensed characters. DC Comics and MARVEL were in the mix, and there were others like Popeye, The Smurfs, and more. By the 90s, there were even editions based of characters from The Simpsons, and then the brand went on hiatus. I vaguely remembered these from the late 70s/early 80s, so when I was pitched some samples for a Crazy Foam rebirth, I jumped on it. Thing is, after having these in-hand, my parental instincts kicked in and made two things very clear – Crazy Foam is creepy, and I’m not comfortable letting my girls use it based on the ingredients and propellants contained within.
The kids depicted in that 2015 Crazy Foam commerical up-top are pretty accurate – there’s no doubt that “kids love Crazy Foam” – but kids don’t understand words like Phenoxyethanol and Hydroxyethylcellulose. In fact, here’s the ingredients list for Crazy Foam as provided to THE ROCK FATHER Magazine:
Active Ingredients: Water/Eau, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Laureth-23, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fragrance/Parfum, Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose and Blue 1.
Now, in total fairness, there’s some pretty standard stuff in there, all within guidelines – but that doesn’t mean my wife and I have to like it. In fact, while I let the girls use Crazy Foam twice, if it was up to my wife, they wouldn’t have used it at all. We typically use products like Babyganics, The Honest Company, etc. so while Superman and Wonder Woman shooting white goo from their mouths might be fun and amusing (and somewhat creepy), it’s a stretch. For me, what was troubling are the propellants – Isobutane and Proponane. I’d not even thought about that aspect of Crazy Foam until I realized you can actually smell them if the can isn’t at quite the right angle. Again, I’m just not comfortable with it.
As many of you that know me or read my writings are well-aware of, I’m all for some good retro fun and a cool nostalgia trip. In the case of Crazy Foam however, some things are just better left in the past.
